Problem Statement

The following changes are based on some of my experience with first-time users and my own experiments with new repos using both the extension installer and other manual methods.

The hve-core-installer agent successfully guides users through HVE-Core installation, but it has two gaps that impact user experience:

1. Gitignore Recommendation - Interactive prompt to help users add .copilot-tracking/ to their project's .gitignore and document this
2. Add VS Code variant selection - Prompt users to choose between VS Code stable and Insiders before extension installation
3. Add Prompt Configuration: The installer does not yet add .copilot-tracking/prompts as a prompt location in settings

Gap 1: Missing .gitignore Guidance

Current Behavior:

• Documentation mentions adding .copilot-tracking/ to project .gitignore (in install.md post-installation section)
• Users must remember to do this manually after installation completes
• No validation that users actually configured gitignore
• Easy to forget and accidentally commit ephemeral workflow artifacts

Impact:

• Users may commit .copilot-tracking/ contents (research docs, plans, handoff logs) to version control
• Increased support questions: "Should I commit these files?"
• Inconsistent experience across projects
• Goes against the ephemeral-by-design principle of these artifacts

User Pain Point:

"I completed installation successfully, but later realized I had committed all my research notes and implementation plans. Should those be in git?"

Gap 2: VS Code Variant Assumption

Current Behavior:

• Extension installation and validation scripts hardcode code CLI command
• Assumes users run VS Code stable release
• No detection or prompt for VS Code Insiders users

Impact:

• Installation fails for VS Code Insiders users (uses code-insiders CLI)
• Validation scripts return false negatives
• Users must manually debug and realize variant mismatch
• Poor first-run experience for Insiders early adopters

User Pain Point:

"The extension installation succeeded but validation says it's not installed. I'm using VS Code Insiders."

Proposed Solution

Add two interactive checkpoints to the installer agent that provide proactive guidance to the user.

Gap 3: Add .copilot-tracking/prompts to installer

Update the HVE core installer agent so that .copilot-tracking/prompts is added as the last item in all chat.promptFilesLocations. This ensures smooth user experience when user Task Planner to generate custom prompt for calling Task Implementer agent.

Success Criteria

Functional Requirements:

• VS Code variant prompt appears before extension installation
• Selected variant is used in installation and validation commands
• Gitignore checkpoint appears after successful installation
• Checkpoint detects existing .copilot-tracking patterns correctly
• Checkpoint skips if pattern already exists
• Checkpoint can create new .gitignore file
• Checkpoint can append to existing .gitignore file
• User can decline gitignore recommendation
• Works on Windows (PowerShell), macOS (Bash), Linux (Bash)

User Experience:

• Clear, actionable prompts with numbered choices
• Educational messaging explains why
• Graceful error handling
• Non-intrusive (skips when appropriate)
• Consistent experience across installation methods

Quality:

• No breaking changes to existing workflows
• Backward compatible (existing installations unaffected)
• Passes markdownlint validation
• Passes cspell validation
• Tested on all supported platforms

Files Affected

• .github/agents/hve-core-installer.agent.md - Main implementation
• docs/getting-started/install.md - Document new features
• docs/getting-started/methods/extension.md - Reference .gitnore suggestion